Ilo commits by the first lady side

Another step forward in the fight against trafficking and the worst forms of child labor in Côte d'Ivoire. Mrs. Dominique Ouattara, First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire and President of the National Oversight Committee for fight against Trafficking, Exploitation and Child Labor (CNS) met with the Director General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, and its experts, at the Organization's headquarters in Geneva, on Monday, 24 April 2016. On the menu of discussions, the issue related to the criteria for enumeration, measurement and qualification of Victims of trafficking and the worst forms of child labor. In other words, the fact that the populations, particularly the farmers, do not understand, the reason why their children are considered as working children, when outside school hours and in the course of family activities, they take part of work which does not endanger their health, physical, social and moral development and which do not compromise their education. Speaking on this occasion, the First Lady Dominique Ouattara reiterated the commitment of Côte d'Ivoire, headed by President Alassane Ouattara, to eradicate trafficking and the worst forms of child labor. The President of the CNS also recalled that some of her country's efforts to end the scourge, including the validation and implementation of the National Action Plan 2012-2014 (NAP) for a sum of 14 Million US dollars invested by the Ivorian government and partners, the construction of more than 17,000 classrooms in pre-primary and primary schools, the construction and rehabilitation of 155 colleges from 2011 to 2015, the effective implementation of the Prohibition of Trafficking and the Worst Forms of Child Labor Act, which resulted in the conviction of 25 child traffickers.
However The First Lady noted that "... despite all our goodwill, as well as the significant actions taken in recent years, one major problem persists and can hamper our efforts. This is the question of criteria for enumeration, measurement and qualification of child victims of the worst forms of child labor. "
Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), spoke first about the presence of the First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire at the International Labor Office (ILO). "We are honored to see the First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire accompanied by the Minister of Employment and Social Protection (Moussa Dosso, Editor's note) and the Ambassador and the social partners of Cote d'Ivoire at the ILO headquarters, "he said.

Also, the Director General of the International Labor Organization (ILO) was very sensitive to the advocacy of the First Lady of Côte d'Ivoire. "I think we had a very productive meeting on what we could do together to move forward in the fight against child labor in Côte d'Ivoire. What was most positive was that we had very easily found the points of convergence on which we were going to work together, namely the definition of light work for children aged 13 to 15; the definition of the list of hazardous work that is prohibited until the age of 18 years. We are well positioned to move forward on shared goals based on shared values. I am very happy with this meeting, "said the head of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Lastly, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder welcomed Mrs. Dominique Ouattara's commitment in the fight against this phenomenon. "I appreciate the First Lady's commitment to the fight against child labor. We must redouble our common efforts to eliminate child labor in Côte d'Ivoire by 2025 under target 8.7 of the sustainable development goals and create a global alliance, "he said. At the same time, the two personalities adopted the work of their experts, namely the introduction of the notion of "light work" for children of 13-15 in national legislation and its use in the framework of the statistical measurement. Thus, both sides stressed the need to collect reliable statistical data on child labor through the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Finally, the ILO undertook to provide technical assistance to Côte d'Ivoire as part of the process of revising hazardous work prohibited for children under 18. It should be noted that the President of the National Oversight Committee for Fight against Trafficking, Exploitation and Child Labor (CNS) was accompanied by Dosso Moussa, Minister of Employment and Social Protection, who is also President of the Inter-ministerial Committee, Dramane Haidara, Director of the ILO Office in Côte d'Ivoire, , and Mrs. Massandjé Touré-Litsé, Director-General of the Coffee-Cocoa Council.